Author's Notes: In this occasion, I would like to know if you find the story too slow, and if so, in what aspect. Aside from that I hope that you enjoy it and take the time to leave me a review, even if it's just to tell me you like it or hate it. They are both very appreciated.
I just finished this and haven't verified it enough, so please excuse any error you may find.
Chapter 3: The Frightening Ice Witch
The queen and princess of Arendelle were out on a mission. Well, technically they weren't out yet, since the kitchen obviously counted as part of the interior of the castle. They were going to leave soon though, right after they packed a few things for their expedition. A few being a rather important part of that sentence, one that Anna doubted her sister had understood.
The young redhead watched as her sister opened a bag that was clearly too big for her small shoulders and began to stuff it with an amount of things that were utterly unnecessary in Anna's opinion. In went three changes of clothes, a hat, rope and blankets and four water bottles, a top which sandwiches and marmalade were placed. But that wasn't enough, so the blond opened the side pockets to put in money, a rope, a hammer with nails, bandages, a hair tie and even a spork; Anna could not fathom any kind of circumstance in which they would be in need of a spork out in the wilderness.
The princess continued to stare at her sister who kept adding the items that rested on top of the kitchen's wooden counter, her facial expression one of focused determination. Anna chuckled inwardly, remembering when she had gone on her first excursion:
"Alright Joan, I think I got everything I need!" Anna said to the painting above the large green sofa. She grunted as she lifted a fat backpack from the floor and tossed it over her wispy shoulders; instantly they slouched and her knees buckled. Still, she made an effort to look up at silent Joan with a huge grin. "Wouldn't you agree?"
'She would if she could speak', Anna thought cheerfully.
The princess rubbed her feet against the carpet on her way to reach the door. Almost losing her balance, she kicked it three times, and waited. No one opened it and no footsteps or mumbling could be heard, which meant that no one was on the hallway. She struggled to open the door and exit the room. And then, believing she was a ninja from one of the tales her father told her, she glued herself to the walls, face first since it made it easier to creep around, and kept on struggling to exit the castle. Once she reached the patio, to prevent herself from being seen by the absent gardener, she threw herself to the ground. Flat on her stomach and with a grimace because she had thrown herself a bit too hard, she crawled between the bushes and the roses, until she reached a particular tall tree.
The tree was quite robust, strong enough to hold the 72 pounds of the eleven year old princess. It was planted parallel to the castles walls, and had a branch that lead directly to her sister's room on the second floor: her destination. Wasting no time, Anna gave a quick look to her surroundings before grasping the tree's bark to climb it. She had barely taken two steps before falling on her back with a clank.
"Ugh...maybe I did not need the kettles." In retrospect adding that had been quite absurd. She did not even remember in which of all her fantasies those had come in handy.
She tried to stand, but like a turtle that's been pushed backwards she could only hobble from side to side. Until she remembered that unlike the turtles, she had thumbs! Which she briskly used to free her arms from the straps of the bag; chuckling at her mental lapse.
"This is not going to work. I'll have to get rid of some things." She said with much regret; it had taken a lot of work to ensemble that backpack.
She began to take out all that she considered might have been extraneous. In the end, she only kept two things, a rope and a gift. Stuffing the items in the now deflated bag, she renewed her ascension. It was much easier this time, and she made it to the top promptly. She looked through the window in search of her sister, but the crystal was misty. Considering she could not even see if her sister was inside or not, and therefore was unable to ask for permission to enter the room, Anna wondered if she should abort her mission. But after such a long journey, and the peril! – She could fall off that tree at any moment! – The princess decided to risk it, and with much caution she pushed the window open.
Anna noticed the cold atmosphere at once, since it contrasted greatly with the summer heat outside. Yet she gave it no mind when her eyes landed on the resting figure of her older sister. Tentatively, she neared the bed.
Young Elsa lay on her back, the blankets covering only up to her waist and her arms were stretched outwards; her left hand holding a hardcover green book.
'She is so pretty'. Anna could not help but whisper. Resting her palms on the edge of the bed, she neared, wishing to see her better. Elsa was thin and long, fitting of an adolescent girl; after all, she was fourteen now. But Anna could still see some freckles upon her pale cheeks, fewer and lighter, but still so similar to her own. It made her heart flutter to know they shared something so visible. A sign of belonging imprinted on their skin.
This was her sister, inexplicably distant and cold at the moment, but hers. The eleven year old could not help herself from appreciating her in the same manner she showed her gratefulness to all she marveled. She leaned forward and pressed her pink lips to the ones of her sleeping sister in the most innocent of kisses. It lasted but for a moment, until she realized the inappropriateness of what she had done; kissing was alright to do to a flower or a puppy or even Joan, but surely not to her sister.
So she bolted, and almost threw herself off the window, but stopped remembering why she had come to her sister's room in the first place. She turned around with a furiously red face. Her sister was unmoving; she had not noticed a thing.
'Good' Anna exhaled in relief, nearing the bed once again. She took her backpack off her shoulders and rested it on the floor while she searched for something within.
She retrieved a small plush toy in the form of a snowman; the castles seamstress had showed her how to do one at her incessant request. It was an exact replica of the one she had drawn for her sister when she was smaller.
Anna kissed the plush toy before placing it on one of the light blue pillows beside her sister's head. Her sister would see it as soon as she woke up. Anna hoped Elsa would like it.
"Happy birthday Elsa" She smiled before picking up her backpack and leaving the room through the window.
Anna blushed at the memory. To think her sister had been her first kiss, and even worst, that she had stolen Elsa's without her knowledge! Sheesh, the embarrassing things one did as a kid. She really hoped Elsa never found out.
Anna had been lost within those thoughts when she felt her arm been jerked.
"Anna! Where are you?" Elsa raised an eyebrow. Her sister was such a space cadet sometimes...alright most of the time. It was cute, but quite unproductive right now.
"Ah…" Anna started, blinking away her stupor. "Right here!"
"Right." Elsa replied, incredulous but opting to not pry this time. "Anyway, I'm done, are you?"
"Yeah…uh…no, I mean, I am, but you are not." The princess got out shaking her head at the bulging bag of her sister.
Elsa stared down at the sack before her. Okay, so it might be a little hard to carry. She looked back across the counter to her sister. "You…want me to leave the spork?"
Anna couldn't help but laugh. She shook her head and moved to stand beside the queen, opening the bag to start taking things out.
"Yes, but also this, and this and definitely this! Elsa what ever made you pack a bag within a bag?" She asked, giving it back to her sister to put away.
Elsa took it, folding it as she murmured, "What if that one breaks?"
Anna continued to laugh. She couldn't believe her sister's conviction in her extravagant ways. "If that happens we take what we can carry in our arms, and fast because who knows what will be attacking us. But for now, when packing for this kind of expedition, you take only what's essential."
"All of those things are essential." Elsa refuted.
"No, they aren't" Anna countered, smirking as she continued to retrieve useless thing after useless thing.
Elsa crossed her arms and looked away, pouting slightly. It was so unbecoming of the queen and so utterly adorable to Anna that she could not help herself from hugging the older woman. Elsa tried to hold onto her upset demeanor, but it was futile with such a warm body against her. She gave in, hugging her sister back fiercely.
"Oh! Is this a hug fest?" The sisters felt more than heard something that attached itself to their knees. Looking down they saw Olaf, and with him was Kristoff.
"Hey Olaf!" Anna knelt down to hug him as well. "And Kristoff." She waved at him.
"Hey Anna." He waved back at her before bowing to the queen. "Your majesty."
Elsa nodded and smiled politely at his courtesy. His title as her sister's boyfriend had allowed them ample time to get to know each other, especially since Anna rarely left her side. She thought him a good man. Not enough for her sister of course, but then, no one was. Still, she could do nothing but accept him after all the help he had been to them and the kingdom.
"I came to see if you wanted to spend the day with me Anna, although you seem a bit busy right now." The official Ice Deliverer of Arendelle said as he looked around the room. He could tell the sisters had been preparing for something by the mess on the counter.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I already have plans with Elsa." She stood and pointed to the queen with her thumb.
"We could leave it for another day Anna, if you wish to go out with Kristoff." Elsa regretted to have to say, but said nonetheless.
At her sister's words Anna almost shouted, "No! I mean, no, this is important." She insisted.
Kristoff wondered what could be so important that she wouldn't want to spend time with her boyfriend. He thought best to ask before getting upset. "What's so important?"
"Ah…" Anna searched her mind for what to say. She was not sure if her sister wanted anyone to now about their little trip.
In truth, Elsa didn't, but it seemed like they had been cornered. Now, she could say the truth or lie, but it was such a silly thing to lie for. Also, the queen thought the fella was nice enough to offer to accompany them. And in all honesty, they could use his help considering the only path she knew in those woods lead to her ice castle.
"We are going to take a little field trip to the other side of the river." Elsa explained.
Kristoff looked at them, confused. "What for?"
"There's something I need to see." She replied simply.
Kristoff could sense the severity of the situation. He did not know what could be so important on the other side of the river that would required the queen to travel herself, but if there was something he had learn during his time with Anna was that stubbornness ran in the family. Therefore, he did not try to change their minds, saving his efforts for battles that he could actually win; he was a smart man. In its place, he offered precisely what the queen was hoping for.
"Why don't I go with you then? For security – not that you can't take care of yourself!" He added quickly, not wishing to insult the ice queen or the princess. Although by Anna's upturn mouth he knew it to be too late with her. "But I mean, I know the woods, so I can make sure you don't get lost!"
'The gall of him' Anna thought. 'As if I didn't know my way through the woods', she opened her mouth to tell him as much, to set him straight on her ability to take care of herself and her sister, but the queen beat her to it. Except, the queen's words were not accord to the princess's internal fuming.
"That would be greatly appreciated Kristoff." Elsa accepted. She knew what they were about to do was risky and inappropriate for the queen, so she wanted to prevent as many mishaps as possible.
The queen kept on smiling gently at the new addition to their group until she felt a slight pressure on the side of her head. When she turned to see what is was, she found her sister frowning at her with a curious glare.
Baffled, the queen asked. "What? You don't think so?"
Anna shook her head, noting her emotions were showing on her face. She looked from Kristoff to Elsa and back again, smiling at the blond man. "No, I think it's great! Welcome aboard Kristoff!" She exclaimed, overly enthusiastic.
"You hesitated." Olaf interjected.
"No I didn't!" Anna countered, sending a glare the poor snowman's way. Olaf decided it was better to stay silent for the rest of the day.
Really, it was not her boyfriend Anna had a problem with. Actually, she was not even certain as to why she had been invaded by such feelings, such jealousy. And the oddest thing was that she was not jealous that Kristoff was spending time with her beautiful sister, but that Elsa spending and sharing Anna's time with Kristoff; even if she was present as well. It was utterly selfish of her she knew, but what could she do? Her desire to have all of her sister's undivided attention was as strong as it was unrelenting.
"Alright then, look for me outside once you are ready. Come on Olaf!" Kristoff turned to leave.
"Wait! We are ready!" Anna replied.
Kristoff scrutinized them, or more specifically, their attire. "You plan to go to the woods like that?" He pointed to their dresses.
Elsa looked down at her herself, wondering what was wrong with her peach colored dress and flats. Yes, she would agree that the color did not suit her very well, but it was oh so very comfortable.
Anna for her part rested a hand on a cocked hip. She remembered vividly the last time she had gone into the wilderness on a dress. It had worked relatively well, in her opinion.
Kristoff noticed Elsa's perplexed expression and Anna's quite irritated face, and decided to explain. "It could be a long journey and who knows what we might encounter out there, a dress might not be very…practical."
"I see." The queen said.
Elsa searched her mind for what else she could wear. Her closet was full of dresses, as it was not only the fashion but the general rule for women's attire. Unless she used…well, she couldn't remember the last time she wore those but, desperate times call for desperate measures…
"I can't believe you made my sister wear pants." Anna grumped, her arms crossed over her chest as she and Kristoff waited for the queen at the end of the stairs.
"I didn't make her, I suggested it, and you are wearing some too!" The blond man defended. He really couldn't understand what the big deal was. He was sure a lot of women would be wearing pants if they could.
"I can't believe you made the queen wear pants! And I'm wearing mine under the dress. They are more like, undergarments!" She huffed. Seriously, how could he not understand the scandal this could create? Moreover, she had never seen her sister wear pants, not in childhood and not in the last year or so that they had been reunited. She would surely be very uncomfortable, in which case, Anna would be quick to assure her that she need not acquiesce to Kristoff's idiotic suggestions.
It took her a while to recall that she was supposed to be quick in putting her sister at ease about her attire, when the queen reached them on the first floor. She was wearing some black pants and a sleeveless light blue blouse with buttons up the front. Yet even common clothes could not take away the regal air that surrounded her. They could, however, accentuate certain aspects of her sister's body. She had known the queen had always had a rather curvaceous waist, much more than her own, but her…well her…Anna swallowed, she could barely even think it. Her rump! There! Had her sister's rump always been so…plump? That often used cape had surely deceived her.
Anna thought it best to stop staring at her sisters lower half soon. So slowly, she lifted her gaze to her sister's face, who was staring at her expectantly.
"Uh…how do they feel?" She asked, hoping her sister had not read the open book of her mind on her face.
"Well, they are a bit constricting, yet also very freeing. It's very odd." Elsa said, pulling the pants around her thighs.
"I wish I could wear pants, but my feet are too teeny whiney." Olaf spoke in the voice he reserved for tiny cute things. Elsa chuckled.
"You'll get used to them. I'm sure by tonight you won't want to take them off." Kristoff grinned.
'I wouldn't mind helping her… wait what?' Anna shook her head. What the hell had she just thought? Yes, she just cursed, it merited it. She frowned and exhaled, hoping all of those strange thoughts left with her expelled air.
"How about we leave already?" The princess said, mostly to Kristoff who right now she was mentally blaming not only for their delay but also for her bizarre thought process.
"Yes, we should leave before the servants awake. Let's get the bags and the map Anna." Elsa said, moving towards the doors that lead to the kitchen.
"Just the bags." Kristoff said casually.
Elsa stared at him while Anna raised an eyebrow. "Kristoff…" The princess started, but was quickly cut off by her boyfriend.
"No really girls. Trust me. I know these woods like the palm of my hand. So just bring the bags, forget the map, and let's get out of here." He turned to walk out of the castle. "Let's go Olaf!"
"Sure! But I'm stopping at Sven's. We are having carrot tea this morning!" The small snowman said.
Elsa looked to Anna for some advice, but Anna could only shrug.
The early bird catches the worm, or so the saying goes. In this case, the early birds managed to achieve invisibility as they made their way through a sleeping plaza, countless house and up to the river that succeeded them.
Luckily, they didn't have to swim across it since there was a bridge for traversing the fairly wide river. However, it was quite run down. The ropes had many loose strings and it was missing a few wood planks. The trio stood before what was supposed to be a bridge and stared at it.
"What now?" Anna asked out loud.
"Well…" Kristoff turned to look at Elsa.
The queen waited for him to continue, but he didn't. When Kristoff noticed she didn't seem to be getting it, he motioned to the bridge with his hand. Elsa cocked her head to the side still not understanding what he meant, but then it came to her.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, raising her arms towards the bridge. Soon after, a snowdrift left her palms. The ice tangled itself with the ropes giving the bridge stability and creating ice planks where the wooden boards had fallen. She added a few decorative snowflakes to the design, because well, the Ice queen could not do anything if it wasn't done beautifully.
"Well done. Also, pretty." Kristoff smirked. Elsa chuckled, knowing full well that he was making fun of her.
They moved to cross the ice bridge, Kristoff at the front, and Anna behind him attached to her sister's arm.
Kristoff loved winter, there were countless of reasons for that besides the fact that he was an Ice deliverer. In comparison, Kristoff hated summer. To him, the only good thing about it was the good business he could make, everything else, sucked; seriously. And being in the woods only magnified his dislike. The sticky humidity, the annoying flies, the evil flora he was certain wanted to either poison him or/and trip him, everything was eternally hated by him.
He had thought that having a sister that could pretty much control winter would mean Anna felt similarly in this regard. He was wrong. Anna couldn't have been more excited with all the aforementioned vexations had she been born in the forest. The redhead jumped from one root to another, climbing rocks and jabbing at random holes on the earth or in the trees as her sister fretted over her.
"Anna, be careful…and get down from there!", "Anna drop it, you don't even know what it is", "Anna, don't stay back there, you are going to get lost", "Anna wait for us!" Elsa found herself saying every few minutes. Anna was slightly annoyed at her sisters incessant worrying, but not enough to not feel elated by the love behind it.
Of course, Kristoff shouldn't have thought that actually being the Ice Queen meant that Elsa hated the summer either. Because for all her concern over Anna's wellbeing, she followed in her sisters excited footsteps, probing every hole and poking every seemingly defenseless animal that the princess hurried to show her; up until she thought Anna could get hurt by any of it that is.
Currently, the sisters were crouched before a colorful frog trying to feed it a frozen fly.
Kristoff exhaled the stress that seemed to be lodging on his neck. "Girls, please stop feeding the shiny frog, it's venomous."
The sisters stepped away from the frog immediately. Elsa blushed at their foolishness, while Anna giggled awkwardly, dropping the fly. Kristoff rolled his eyes at them before retaking his pace.
The queen had to admit that she was quite impressed. Even though she knew not where they were after hours of walking, Kristoff seemed to know exactly where he was going, or where he was standing at the least. Quite possibly because of her full trust in his abilities, she failed to notice at once that the greenery was becoming scarce.
The trees lost width and the grass lost height as they reached an opening in the forest. A path of dry dirt led to the entrance of what appeared to be a small village. It had a delimiting wooden fence that was so raptured that it could hardly keep any wild animals out. Parallel to this fence the village accommodated a variety of small houses with walls made out of thin lumber and ceilings made out of hay. There was a well right in the middle of the miniscule village around which domestic animals and people sauntered.
The queen could not believe this rundown village was supposed to be part of her kingdom. Least could she understand how the resources she sent throughout her land biannually were not reaching this community.
Elsa's feet picked up the pace as they approached the wooden fence, footsteps of her companions hurrying behind her. She saw children close to the entrance playing with an old ball, and she hoped they – or anyone really – could explain what was going on. Yet, as they noticed her nearing them their expressions changed. The tallest of them, a skinny girl with dark brown hair gasped, and forgetting the ball they had been playing with, grabbed on to the arms of her two younger friends and ran away from the queen.
As she went, Elsa could hear her screaming, "The Ice Witch! It's the Ice Witch!"
Elsa halted in that instant, even with the collision of her sister's body with her back, the queen did not move. She could not. The girl's frightened yell had rooted her to the spot and she could barely hear her own breathing. She saw, more than listened, the harsh shutting of doors and windows, the hurried retrieving of children and the emptying of roads from screaming villagers.
"What's going on?" Anna asked to her left as she too looked about perplexed by the whole situation.
"I really don't know." Kristoff answered. He frowned, trying to make heads out of tails, but before he could even try to approach anyone for an explanation the sound of urgent footsteps thundered through the ground.
The trio watched as a group of eight men placed themselves before them. They held swords and clubs and even torches, clearly ready to fight. Alarmed, Elsa stood quickly before her sister, shielding her from the hostile men. Anna gulped and seized her sister's arm while Kristoff took a step forward. The men rapidly pointed their weapons at him.
Kristoff lifted his arms in defense before speaking. "Do you not know who you have before you?" He shouted.
"We do." Came a voice from within the mob. The men parted to expose a rather old man. The wrinkles around his eyes only deepened with his scowl. "The Ice Witch."
"This is your queen!" Kristoff replied, lowering his arms.
"Same difference." The old man, clearly the leader of the village, said.
Against her sister's strong grasp, Elsa took a step forward. She stood tall and demanding, "What is the meaning of this?"
"Why don't you tell us?" The leader asked, taking another step closer to them. He ignored the worried whispers from his men, and stood glaring directly at the queen. "Have you come to chase us farther away? Or perhaps, to take what little we have left?"
Elsa was baffled, and her eyes said as much. Nonetheless, they would not believe in her innocence. Apparently, she had harmed them so, but when?
"What are you talking about? My sister has done nothing of the sort!" Anna shouted from her place behind the queen.
"No? Look around, does it look like I'm lying?" He gestured to the village.
He was not, but they already knew that. Yet, as they inspected their entourage more closely, the poverty seemed greater, the houses more disheveled and the people sadder. Elsa tried to swallow all the confusion and anguish that invaded her.
The lack of refute was enough answer for the elder. "Leave!" He demanded.
But when they didn't move, he felt the need to be a bit more forceful, "Now!" He shouted and his tone stirred his men into action.
They took a step forward with their weapons extended, forcing the trio to back away.
"It might be best if we did as they ask your highness. Since we are outnumbered and all." Kristoff advised, continuing to back way.
Elsa searched for her voice. "Y-yes." She stuttered, keeping her sister behind her as they reentered the woods.
The walk back to the castle had been silent. Anna and Kristoff had tried to talk about the offensive events that had just occurred, but Elsa had been lost in her own reflections. Even when they returned to the castle, the queen said nothing and heard nothing as she ran to the library.
"It's okay Anna, she just needs some time." Kristoff tried to console his girlfriend, but it was no use. Anna's eyes barely left the path her sister had taken when she turned to kiss his cheek good-bye; her thought's solely on her sister and her frustrations.
Kristoff sighed and left for the day; it was almost time for super anyway. In the meantime, Anna got busy with supper. It was not something she often did, considering they had chefs at all hours, but occasionally she liked to help out, mostly to learn and chat. That evening though, she spoke little and worked a lot. She wanted to make something nice to lift her sister's spirits.
As soon as she was done, she carried the tray to the library where she was sure her sister was still hiding. She entered the room to find her sister bent over one of the many books that lay on top of the desk. The queen had not noticed her yet, which told Anna of the amount of concentration the blond was putting into whatever she was working at. The princess placed the tray on the adjacent desk. She stood beside her sister then, and brushed her long bangs away from her face. Elsa gasped, finally noting her sister's presence.
"I brought you dinner." Anna said, continuing to caress her sister's hair.
"Oh, thanks, but I'm not hungry right now." Elsa replied.
"I know, but I made it myself. So would you please eat a bit?" Anna insisted.
Elsa sighed, feeling compelled to at least appease her sister who had gone to such trouble for her. "I'll have some later okay? I can't…swallow anything right now."
Anna nodded in comprehension. She looked over the books and papers on the desk. "Have you found anything?"
Elsa let out a quick breath. "Nothing! No deplorable ancestors, no orders done while I was sleepwalking, no papers signed by unauthorized traitors, nothing!" She threw the pen she had been holding onto the desk.
"Maybe…I don't know. Perhaps the rumors from last year have taken longer to dissipate over there." Anna suggested, but Elsa shook her head dubiously.
Having nothing else to propose for an answer to the dilemma at hand, Anna placed a golden lock behind her sister's ear and said, "Promise me you'll eat something and head to bed soon?"
Elsa nodded, but somehow Anna knew she would not keep that promise. Still, she allowed the white lie, believing everyone needed some time to bemoan that which wounded them. On account of that belief, she pressed her lips to the queen's forehead and exited the library.